Former President Donald J. Trump on midweek called for the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump posted on social media Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements coincide with the deployment of state military personnel in the Chicago region following directives from the current government, despite strong objections from Illinois authorities such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump attempted to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I'm not going put."
The governor responded via social platforms, stating: "I refuse to yield. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of elected officials resisting his authority. What remains on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, military troops from Texas had reached the Elwood training facility, an army base approximately 50 miles from Chicago, as the administration pushes forward with its hardline crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has called Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", even though police data indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, such as homicides.
That day, 200 Texas National Guard troops were expected to deploy to the region, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard forces preparing to mobilize, per sources. Officials indicated the soldiers would not perform law enforcement duties but would protect ICE officers and their facilities.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with state guard patches were spotted at the military facility in Elwood. Vehicles labeled "Disaster Relief" dropped off sanitation facilities and essential items. Mobile units were arranged in rows. Additional fencing was placed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered flight restrictions over the army reserve center for security reasons until early December.
Federal authorities has escalated immigration enforcement in the city in the past month, triggering protests, particularly near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action against the federal government, seeking to block the military dispatch, asking a federal judge to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "unlawful and risky".
Legal proceedings on their case is set for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also issued an directive on Monday prohibiting ICE officers and others from using municipal facilities as operation bases for enforcement actions.
The governor has accused Trump of using troops as "political props" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on the previous day, Pritzker said that the president is attempting to "rationalize and normalize the presence of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The historic federal law restricts the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, Trump has said he would be willing to activate the Insurrection Act, which permits a commander-in-chief to send regular army in regions that are failing to put down an uprising or are defying national authority.
Since starting his second term, the president has dispatched or discussed sending military units to over ten urban centers, such as major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the military presence is necessary to combat crime and defend immigration agents.
Statistics indicates that serious offenses nationwide has decreased in recent years. In Chicago, for example, homicides were reduced 31% to 278 through August, according to law enforcement reports.
A recent poll released on Wednesday found that most Americans oppose the sending of troops without an foreign danger.
